Derby County Under-23s will lock horns with Nottingham Forest in the Premier League Cup.

The pair will meet in the group stage of the competition, along with Birmingham City and Middlesbrough in Group A.

The tournament has 32 teams in it, with eight groups of four sides playing each other both home and away.

Each side will be allowed three over-age outfield players and a goalkeeper born before January 1 1994.

The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage, which includes the last 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. They will be one-off ties which will go to extra-time and penalties if it remains all square after 90 minutes.

Derby were knocked out of the group stage last season, finishing bottom of their group with Hull City, Colchester and Manchester City.

The Rams picked up seven points from six games, as did Manchester City, while Hull and Colchester both notched 10 points.